Mission Viejo Passing Tournament: Top Defensive Performers

The Mission Viejo passing tournament took place last Saturday and 20 quality Southern California programs took place in a 7-on-7 tournament and lineman competition.   Mission Viejo won the tournament to cap its impressive summer of passing league titles.   I got a chance to see the majority of teams play. Here were the top defensive performers that caught my eye:   [player_tooltip player_id="338461" first="Aidan" last="Bravo"], St. Paul   Saturday was my first time seeing Bravo in person and I was impressed with his length and size. He has long arms and had more muscle than I expected. Everyone knows he is a quality receiver but he impressed me more on the defensive side of the ball. He had two early interceptions against Mission Viejo and Capo Valley. He covers so much of the field and brings his receiving abilities to the defensive side with his ball skills.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AidanBravo4/status/1549048041985826818?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id="384830" first="Michael" last="Damato"], Mission Viejo   Damato transferred to Mission Viejo from Tesoro and instantly fits right into the Diablo’s defense as a nickel corner. He made a circus catch for an interception against Capo Valley and used his physicality in man coverage throughout the tournament. He is such an asset because he can cover guys in the slot man-to-man or split out wide, or be a cover 2 safety. Damato is one of the more underrated transfers this offseason.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikeyDamato2/status/1549482700582424576?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   Dillon Gresham, San Jacinto   I only got a chance to watch San Jacinto for 15 minutes or so, but multiple coaches on the sideline praised Gresham’s ability on both sides of the ball. One defensive coach told me that teams were flat out avoiding throwing the ball to Gresham’s side of the field. He is more known for his abilities as a receiver, but he shined on defense on Saturday.   Lamar Stephens, Warren   Warren was the surprise team of the event and Stephens was a big part of the defensive success. He had the game-winning deflection in Warren’s semifinal win over Centennial of Corona. He does a good job timing his deflections to avoid drawing flags while still being physical.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1548427684186714115?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   Tayten Beyer, Centennial   Centennial’s defense gave up some yardage but when the ball got down to the redzone, teams had trouble scoring against the speed of Centennial’s defensive backs. Beyer got great reviews from the coaching staff and was matching up with very good receivers. He is a young guy who doesn’t have a ton of varsity experience but is getting his chance this season after the Huskies lost some transfers.   [player_tooltip player_id="145197" first="Owen" last="Chambliss"], Centennial   Chambliss was a less surprising top performer from Centennial. When another scout arrived to watch Centennial play Santa Margarita, his first question was "where is Chambliss?" He flies around the field as a linebacker and has real sideline-to-sideline speed. I saw them play Orange who likes to throw to its running backs and Chambliss was shutting those plays down. He is committed to Utah.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1548388599883636738?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id="147764" first="Jackson" last="Sievers"], Capistrano Valley   I have seen Sievers do a good job stopping the run when the pads come on, but I hadn’t seen him so effective in pass coverage as he was on Saturday. He had multiple near-interceptions against St. Paul and was shutting down any intermediate routes over the middle of the field. Capo Valley was playing without a lot of its top players, but Sievers came to play on defense for the Cougars.   [player_tooltip player_id="261775" first="Scooter" last="Jackson"], Warren   When I asked Warren coach Kevin Pearson who was standing out for him on the defensive side of the ball, the first player he named was Jackson. He matched up very well against much bigger receivers from Inglewood and Centennial. He has been getting looks from top schools and could be due for a huge senior year.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ihatewideouts/status/1496566700879519745?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>

The Mission Viejo passing tournament took place last Saturday and 20 quality Southern California programs took place in a 7-on-7 tournament and lineman competition.